Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
So for one of my classes this semester we are going through a Bible study type book. We are supposed to look at one chapter a week. Each chapter has a core truth that it wishes to impart, a memory verse, am inductive Bible study guide, and then a reading that delves farther into the core truth. Well, the memory verse for the first week was Matthew 28:18-20. This is a passage that I have grown up at least knowing about, but I have never actually memorized it and have always really thought it was important but never actually just sat down and read it and really focus on what it is trying to impart. Well, after I got over the initial disgust of myself for not having done thes things, I sat down, memorized it and began to answer the questions the book provided. They are simple questions about a simple few verses, but they really changed my outlook on my faith and how I live my life. And because it had this affect on me, I thought, "Hey, maybe it will have this affect on other people as well." So, in my attempt to change the lives of others I thought I would post those questions, my responses to them, and maybe a few more thoughts.
The first question that the text asks is in an attempt to really put the passage of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) in context. I am not near as good as my roommate at putting Biblical passages in context (he is a Biblical studies major after all), but I can at least give you a basic feel of the events that preceded these words of Jesus. These are the last words of Jesus in Matthew, so it is immediately following his rise from the grave. He met with his disciples and he told them to go and make disciples of all nations. Now, I don't know about you, but if I were a disciple, I would probably be a little bit freaked out by this. I mean think about it. Jesus was crucified three days ago and you were expecting to have to go visit his grave to claim his body (although he told you that he was going to rise from the dead) and then all of a sudden you start hearing rumors that his body is gone and you are told to go to Galilee and wait for him, although you know for a fact he is dead. Wow. That would be a lot to take in. I am sure that there is more dialogue than just what is recorded in scripture. However, it shows the importance of the statement that out of everything said in this glorious reunion, this passage is what is recorded in scripture. Jesus had risen from the grave and the knowledge that he felt most important to impart on the disciples before he left is that of the Great Commission. That is pretty powerful.
The next question asks what these three verses tell us about Jesus. In truth, this passage teaches us a lot about Jesus. Let's look at it verse by verse. The first verse establishes Jesus' dominion over all of the heavens and all of the earth. The devil likes to think he is in control, but in reality, our God has never lost control. All authority has been given to Christ. Not just some, or a large amount even, but absolutely all authority has been given to Jesus. Our God is all powerful and all authority God possessess has now been passed to His son Jesus Christ. The next verse is a command from Jesus to his disciples (and to us) to go to ALL nations and make disciples. This verse shows the love Jesus has for the world. He did not want the disciples to be the only ones who received the good news of Jesus Christ. He did not even want Israel to be the only country to receive the good news. Jesus told his disciples to make disciples of ALL NATIONS! I just want to make sure you understand this part. There are around seven billion people in the world. Jesus wants us to share the gospel with every single one of them. And now that I think about it, he wanted us to do more than just share the gospel. He actually wanted us to make disciples of all nations. Making disciples requires an actual committment to all those people. Not just a, "Hey, Jesus loves you, accept him as Lord, here is a Bible, and see ya!" We are called to really mentor and disciple all people and show them the love of Christ. Jesus commanded this of us because he loves every single person in this world and wants them all to experience that love. This seems like a very daunting task doesn't it? Reaching seven billion people and making them all disciples? Yes, it is rather overwhelming. However, the next verse gives us a promise from Jesus that he will be with us always. This means that he trusts us enough to put the task of reaching the world on our shoulders, but he loves us enough to walk beside us the entire way. I say this because it is true. But at the same time, he does establish his authority, meaning that going and making disciples is not a gentle request. It is a command given by the creator of the universe and if we do not follow through, we are actually undermining this authority.
The book does have a few more questions, but I feel I have covered the main point. It breaks my heart when I read this verse because I know for a fact that I could be doing so much more. As a matter of fact, I don't do much at all and I hate that about myself. I cannot be content in simply going to school to be a minister, I need to live my life doing ministry. No amount of school can get me into heaven, and no amount of school can help tell people about Christ. It is a call that every single Christian must accept. If you are reading this as a non-Christian, then I sincerely apologize to you because I have failed to do my job. Christ called us to be better than what we are, but gave us the Holy Spirit to elevate us in order to accomplish all that the Lord has planned for us.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Walking through Philippians
As I mentioned in my previous post, my roommates and I are trying to memorize the entire book of Philippians (only four chapters) before Easter. What I did not mention, however, is that we are also doing our weekly Bible study on the verses that we were supposed to have memorized the previous week. We began this Bible study on Monday, January 17 and will have continue to do so every Monday. This week we looked at Philippians 1:1-6. I thought that it would be a good idea to let my readers into our little Bible study meetings (without any personal details my roommates share with me) so that they can learn what I am learning, and also so that I can learn what I am learning better than I would have learned it had I not written about it. So here goes:
Philippians 1:1-6 (typed from memory, so excuse any punctuation errors or slightly different words used. Version memorized is the English Standard Version or ESV)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all of the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.
2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you
4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy
5 because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now
6 And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
What immediately catches my eye is how completely humble Paul and Timothy are through writing this letter to the church that they began at Philippi. Paul most likely wrote this letter from a prison in Rome, so it also shows his complete devotion to this church plant of his. But it is crazy how humble these great men are. They claim to be servants of Christ Jesus. They are in no way trying to get any glory for themselves. They are servants, or slaves. They do not follow their own will but the will of God the Father. The thing that interests me the most is how they are trying to live their lives in accordance with how Christ lived his life. Jesus came to this earth as a servant himself, so the fact that Paul and Timothy readily recognize themselves as servants of the servant in Jesus shows how much they love God and that their agenda is in no way trying to promote themselves. The next thing to not is who the letter is written to. It is written to the saints in Philippi who already know Christ. It is written as a letter of praise and encouragement to those who are faithfully serving the gospel. I am not sure how long transpired between the starting of the church of Philippi and Paul writing this letter, but verse 5 shows that the church has in no way wavered from the original goal that is the gospel. This was a hard thing to do in this time period when Christians were persecuted heavily (hence Paul being in prison). But this church was faithful in the Gospel from the very beginning and have not wavered at all. My roommate Eric pointed out that Paul always has a rebuke in his letters to churches, but has nothing negative to say about the church at Philippi. Quite the contrary, Paul adores and loves this church very much which is evident in the way he talks about them in these first few verses and also in the way he prays for them. We need to follow some examples here of Paul's prayer live. "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy." Paul loves this church. He prayers for them with a joy that can only be found in Christ. We need to do the same for our church today. Whenever we pray for our church we need to do so joyfully, as Paul did. If we love our church, this should come naturally. I often find myself praying and getting in the routine of prayer and I realize that I am not being sincere at all. Prayer is not simply something we are supposed to do. Prayer should be the act of us talking with the creator of the Universe. That should send chills up our spines. I have always wanted to know famous people and have the opportunity to talk to them. However, I know and have easy access to the Almighty God who created the universe, and I don't do so with joy and reverence? How the heck does that work? There are times when I get so excited to see friends I haven't seen in a while or to talk to somebody that I really care about. WHY DO I NOT FEEL THIS WAY WHEN I AM TALKING TO GOD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I honestly do not know the answer to this question but you can believe that I am searching my heart trying to figure it out. Paul prays with joy. This shows that when he prays, he actually believes that his prayers are going to come to fruition. Why pray if we don't believe our prayers are heard and that God will fulfill them? I can tell you one thing with a hundred percent certainty, if we do not believe our prayers will work, they won't. We have to KNOW that God can accomplish our prayers. Paul is joyful while praying because he knows that prayer is successful and that prayer actually works. Finally, the last verse. Life is hectic and sometimes we can all get depressed and start worrying about tomorrow and all the things we want to accomplish and we forget about today. We forget about what we are doing and why we are doing it in the first place. I don't like New Orleans. I have not made that a secret. However, I know that God put me here for a reason and I know that I have a purpose for being down here. God began a work in me that led me here, and God will be faithful in completing that work. God does not simply send us down a cliff with a little bit of rope and expect us to find our own way down. God expects us to step of the ledge in complete faith and find a stair. And then another stair, and then another stair. At no point in this cycle is God going to take away the next stair. God will complete anything that He started and we can have faith that no matter what we are doing, where we are, or who we are with, that God will lead us to the next step if we are willing to trust him. I don't know about you, but I find this trust really hard. I find it hard to trust God when I cannot see him actively doing stuff in front of me. The thing I try to realize though is that it is in no way about me. God's will is going to be done, and it is my choice on whether or not I want to be used in accomplishing it. I don't want to take the next step. I want to see the bottom. God does not work like that my friends, and unless we are willing to take the next little step in faith, how are we ever going to reach the bottom? So many people feel like me in wanting to know the end result. If you really want to know the end result, the only way to find out is to take the next tiny step and slowly make your way to the bottom.
Philippians 1:1-6 (typed from memory, so excuse any punctuation errors or slightly different words used. Version memorized is the English Standard Version or ESV)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all of the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.
2 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you
4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy
5 because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now
6 And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ
What immediately catches my eye is how completely humble Paul and Timothy are through writing this letter to the church that they began at Philippi. Paul most likely wrote this letter from a prison in Rome, so it also shows his complete devotion to this church plant of his. But it is crazy how humble these great men are. They claim to be servants of Christ Jesus. They are in no way trying to get any glory for themselves. They are servants, or slaves. They do not follow their own will but the will of God the Father. The thing that interests me the most is how they are trying to live their lives in accordance with how Christ lived his life. Jesus came to this earth as a servant himself, so the fact that Paul and Timothy readily recognize themselves as servants of the servant in Jesus shows how much they love God and that their agenda is in no way trying to promote themselves. The next thing to not is who the letter is written to. It is written to the saints in Philippi who already know Christ. It is written as a letter of praise and encouragement to those who are faithfully serving the gospel. I am not sure how long transpired between the starting of the church of Philippi and Paul writing this letter, but verse 5 shows that the church has in no way wavered from the original goal that is the gospel. This was a hard thing to do in this time period when Christians were persecuted heavily (hence Paul being in prison). But this church was faithful in the Gospel from the very beginning and have not wavered at all. My roommate Eric pointed out that Paul always has a rebuke in his letters to churches, but has nothing negative to say about the church at Philippi. Quite the contrary, Paul adores and loves this church very much which is evident in the way he talks about them in these first few verses and also in the way he prays for them. We need to follow some examples here of Paul's prayer live. "Always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy." Paul loves this church. He prayers for them with a joy that can only be found in Christ. We need to do the same for our church today. Whenever we pray for our church we need to do so joyfully, as Paul did. If we love our church, this should come naturally. I often find myself praying and getting in the routine of prayer and I realize that I am not being sincere at all. Prayer is not simply something we are supposed to do. Prayer should be the act of us talking with the creator of the Universe. That should send chills up our spines. I have always wanted to know famous people and have the opportunity to talk to them. However, I know and have easy access to the Almighty God who created the universe, and I don't do so with joy and reverence? How the heck does that work? There are times when I get so excited to see friends I haven't seen in a while or to talk to somebody that I really care about. WHY DO I NOT FEEL THIS WAY WHEN I AM TALKING TO GOD?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I honestly do not know the answer to this question but you can believe that I am searching my heart trying to figure it out. Paul prays with joy. This shows that when he prays, he actually believes that his prayers are going to come to fruition. Why pray if we don't believe our prayers are heard and that God will fulfill them? I can tell you one thing with a hundred percent certainty, if we do not believe our prayers will work, they won't. We have to KNOW that God can accomplish our prayers. Paul is joyful while praying because he knows that prayer is successful and that prayer actually works. Finally, the last verse. Life is hectic and sometimes we can all get depressed and start worrying about tomorrow and all the things we want to accomplish and we forget about today. We forget about what we are doing and why we are doing it in the first place. I don't like New Orleans. I have not made that a secret. However, I know that God put me here for a reason and I know that I have a purpose for being down here. God began a work in me that led me here, and God will be faithful in completing that work. God does not simply send us down a cliff with a little bit of rope and expect us to find our own way down. God expects us to step of the ledge in complete faith and find a stair. And then another stair, and then another stair. At no point in this cycle is God going to take away the next stair. God will complete anything that He started and we can have faith that no matter what we are doing, where we are, or who we are with, that God will lead us to the next step if we are willing to trust him. I don't know about you, but I find this trust really hard. I find it hard to trust God when I cannot see him actively doing stuff in front of me. The thing I try to realize though is that it is in no way about me. God's will is going to be done, and it is my choice on whether or not I want to be used in accomplishing it. I don't want to take the next step. I want to see the bottom. God does not work like that my friends, and unless we are willing to take the next little step in faith, how are we ever going to reach the bottom? So many people feel like me in wanting to know the end result. If you really want to know the end result, the only way to find out is to take the next tiny step and slowly make your way to the bottom.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Selfishness
This morning I was laying in bed not going to church and I began to think about some things that are controlling my life. Why was a missing church, you ask? Well that is a good question. And one I have been wondering a lot myself. Is it because I don't like my church, or because I don't feel like I really fit in? No, that isn't it at all. As a matter of fact, I actually love Vintage Metairie. It is a great church home with a great mission that is really a Biblical viewpoint of what a church should be. I was missing church because I am a selfish person and sometimes I would rather sleep in than go to church. And then I began to wonder about that statement. Why would I rather sleep in than go worship my Lord and Savior? I am going to school to gain a job where I will be supposedly serving the Lord with my every breath. However, I am not in anyway serving the Lord with very many of my breaths at all. There are billions of people in the world that have never even heard of Jesus Christ, and I have him readily available to me, and I am too lazy and selfish to even go to church. It baffles me. My roommates and I are trying to memorize the entire book of Philippians before Easter, and I cannot even be faithful in that. It kills me how undetermined and unfaithful I am given my status as a student in seminary. I think about my life and I hate what it is becoming. I am too lazy to do anything. I hate being lazy. I try to not be lazy, and I tell myself that I am going to be faithful in all the things that I tell myself to do, but for some reason I just don't follow through and I am getting sick of it. So a good question to ask is how am I going to change after posting this blog? Well I really can't know that until I post it and see if my life becomes any different. School starts soon again, so I will be back to being so busy I won't even be able to think straight. I am taking 16 hours this semester, which is almost twice the amount of hours needed to be a full time masters student. I have been thinking a lot about where my life is heading. My roommate and I both really want to start a church in city that is completely unchurched, such as Boston which has almost a million people and less than 75 churches. However, I also feel called to the Army as a Chaplain, so I am trying to figure out either which one of those I should pursue or whether or not I can do both of them. One of them completely evolves around my roommate also though. He will be graduating with his masters come May and the original plan was maybe to go visit Boston sometime this semester and see if that is maybe where God wants us to go. However, he feels that God is maybe telling him to wait on starting a church, and I am a very impatient and spontaneous person and would really just like to move now, given my dislike for living in the city of New Orleans. I have also been in contact recently with my Army recruiter and I am in the process of furthering that process so that I can get money for school. The hard thing to figure out is whether or not I want to be in the Army Reserves, or an Active Duty Chaplain. If I become an active duty chaplain, I will probably spend a lot of time outside the country, but I will make a lot of money. I know it is not all about money, but coming from a family with no money, I would like to be able to support my future family and send my children to any college that they want to go to. If I decide God wants me to plant a church, I can still be a chaplain in the reserves. The most appealing thing about the active duty chaplain is that if I am a chaplain for 20 years, I can retire at 45 and make fifty percent of my salary and then pursue planting a church without worrying about where the money would be coming from for the church and to support my family. However, that is extremely selfish and just shows you how selfish I am as a person. I really just want to completely give up myself and really focus on what God wants for me and my life and in the lives of those around me. All I know is that I want to make a difference in the world, and I cannot make a difference in anyone's life if I continue down the path I am currently on.
Another thing that I have been working on is my patience and my general lack of tolerance for, well pretty much anyone. Some people have called me racist, but really I have a general intolerance for pretty much everyone. And in my chosen profession that just cannot happen. That is why I have been working on being a lot more tolerant. Every time I have caught myself getting angry at someone for something that does not matter, I chastise myself. Which turns in from me getting mad at other people a lot to me getting mad at myself a lot, which also is not good. Basically, I am an extremely confused individual and my mind just is not working right. I want to change. I need to change. I pray every night that God give me His desires over my own selfish ones. I realize that this particular post has no real meaning or point. It is just some stuff I have been struggling with that I wanted to share with the world. Thank you for reading. There will be more soon since school is starting soon and I will have plenty of things to talk about.
On a final not, if anyone wants to buy me a MacBook, I would love that person absolutely forever.
Another thing that I have been working on is my patience and my general lack of tolerance for, well pretty much anyone. Some people have called me racist, but really I have a general intolerance for pretty much everyone. And in my chosen profession that just cannot happen. That is why I have been working on being a lot more tolerant. Every time I have caught myself getting angry at someone for something that does not matter, I chastise myself. Which turns in from me getting mad at other people a lot to me getting mad at myself a lot, which also is not good. Basically, I am an extremely confused individual and my mind just is not working right. I want to change. I need to change. I pray every night that God give me His desires over my own selfish ones. I realize that this particular post has no real meaning or point. It is just some stuff I have been struggling with that I wanted to share with the world. Thank you for reading. There will be more soon since school is starting soon and I will have plenty of things to talk about.
On a final not, if anyone wants to buy me a MacBook, I would love that person absolutely forever.
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